To be the most effective teacher possible, educators need to become aware of the different learning styles in their classroom. Think about it… You may learn best by watching a demonstration, while someone else may learn best by reading about the same topic. There are seven main different learning styles and it is important to be able to identify how our students’ learn best. But how can we tell? The seven different learning styles follow:
Linguistic – Students’ enjoy reading and writing
Logical/Mathematical – Students’ who understand patterns and are able to solve problems more easily
Visually – Students’ have the ability to visualize three dimensional objects
Bodily kinesthetic – Students’ who use their body effectively to express themselves
Musical – Students’ can recognize tones, rhythms, and musical patterns
Interpersonal – Students’ who understand others and care about other people’s feelings
Intrapersonal – Students’ who are aware of their own strengths and weaknesses
So how do we incorporate these different learning styles into our curriculum? We need to use an approach to teaching that advocates active planning for and attention to student differences in classrooms, differentiated instruction. For example, in chapter 4 in the book, “Can We Skip Lunch and Keep Writing?” by Julie D. Ramsay, Julie explains how she used a method of differentiated instruction in her classroom. Ramsay had a group of 5th grade students that had a difficult time with oral language. Ramsay tried an alternative method by having her students’ create a narrative video. This motivated her students because it was something new, challenging, and fun. Ramsay suggested “VoiceThread,” which is a free online tool that would work great for this type of activity. Click here for an introduction to VoiceThread.
Obviously, it would be nearly impossible to adapt to each students’ unique learning style in every lesson, but it is important that we try to “switch things up a bit.” Instead of lecturing and having students copy notes every day, consider the variety of your students’ and adjust accordingly. By becoming aware of the different learning styles, we can make learning fun!
Elizabeth Moore 
I always used to hate going to classes where we would only sit and watch a powerpoint and listen to our teacher drone on about whatever topic we were currently discussing. Although I am a very visual learner, I do enjoy getting up and moving around. This helps keep me tuned in to what we are learning about, instead of slowly nodding off in the back of the room. Like you said, switching up how you teach will keep the entire class engaged throughout all of your lessons, and nobody (hopefully!) should be falling asleep or not paying attention because they will be so involved with the different activities that you are constantly doing. Each student learns differently, and we need to remember that when planning lessons. We can hit on many different learning styles within the span of a day, and by doing this we should be able to ensure all of our students are learning and having fun while doing so.